High court entrenches ANC/Icosa/NPP Coalition

Drewan Baird. Oudtshoorn. 6 June 2014. 05h20. An Order agreed before Mr Justice Owen Rogers yesterday prevents the DA/Cope coalition from bringing motions of no confidence in the executive mayor, deputy mayor and speaker before a ruling in the ipso jure removal of eleven DA and the Cope councillors is made.

The DA councillors and their Cope coalition partner are also prevented from any disciplinary action against any municipal employee, stemming from events prior to the Order, until the ruling.

The Order is the result of quite brilliant positioning by a Silk, his junior, and an instructing attorney with a dedicated team of sharp lawyers, all directed by a legal strategist standing alone on local government law.

All DA councillors and the Cope councillor are now reinstated pending the outcome of the August 4 hearing and no by-election will be held in Harmse’s ward 13 on July 2.

This development follows profound political perfidy since late February and two previous high court orders all but reinstating the ten DA councillors and the Cope councillor initially removed by operation of law.

It is evident from developments early yesterday morning that political pressure again pointed the current Order. Clearly Oudtshoorn is directed by melded remote control from the Marks Building and Sahara House in Cape Town. Only deft strategic helming by a dedicated team of skilled professionals in the office of the municipal manager prevents violation of Oudtshoorn. Like Conan Doyle’s The Giant Rat of Sumatra, the world is not yet ready for this story. Soon…

Ratepayers and residents may well be convinced that the battle for Oudtshoorn is raging in council. Not so.

The battle for Oudtshoorn is fought by lilliputian men with brobdingnagian political ego’s simply not wanting to lose face. Such is the sorry state of this proverbial Denmark.

Where does the current development leave Oudtshoorn?

The DA/Cope coalition currently has 13 members; the ANC/Icosa/NPP coalition has 12.

Twelve DA/Cope coalition members removed by operation of law serve pending the outcome of the August 4 hearing.

The thirteenth DA/Cope coalition member, Peter Roberts, is awaiting the outcome of a DA federal disciplinary hearing on his fate.

Council may well soon be reduced to 13 members for quite some time: The 12 ANC/Icosa/NPP members and the member for ward 7, currently held by Roberts.

It all started with a consummately idiotic DA take-over plan on May 31 last year. And the fiasco was exacerbated by that fraudulent Nel “Settlement” which the DA leadership steadfastly refuses to face.

It all could have been settled in June or July last year. And the DA could have been governing Oudtshoorn from August 16 last year.

All that was needed was a smidgen of political intelligence. Sadly, or mercifully, DA political intelligence is akin to the proverbial military intelligence.